Under Pressure
by Woman Of The Book
Summary: Merlin's under pressure to reveal his magic. Arthur's under pressure, because his best friend revealed himself to be completely different from whom Arthur thought he was to be after all these years, showing himself to be someone against the very laws of Camelot. Oh, and in front of a healthy amount of people no less. Trust the idiot to place those two in this position...
**IDOM**

 **This is dedicated to cindy4651, who had prompted me for three fics and this is the second of those three. Go ahead and check it out if you want, it's called A King for His Servant :)**

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"Long Live the King!"

The crowd burst out into the chant, many wearing grins on that day, and despite the melancholy that may have once lingered in the air a while ago with the remembrance of the late King's death, it was now gone with the promise of the new King's reign.

One manservant however, for all that he wore the largest grin of them all, cheering the loudest as he stood in front, the tornadoes that were wreaking havoc were well masked from the outside. Today was the day he had promised to tell the truth, and he knew there was no escape from this, especially with those green eyes honed into his every movement from beside the new King, looking for all the world elegant, showing the slightest bit of pride, and above all, patient. But Merlin knew that Morgana was waiting for the moment that Merlin would fulfill his promise.

Fulfill his promise of telling Arthur today of his magic.

His hands fidgeting behind his back, Merlin felt a bout of panic as the event was signalled to finish and people started to rise and shuffle, ready to move behind and away, which was when Merlin forced himself to take a step forward. Then another, and another, and a few more until he was standing right at the bottom of the steps leading to the thrones, Morgana's shrewd eyes locked on him while it took Arthur longer, his eyes looking at the crowd but his sight distant, before clearing and falling at Merlin, frowning in confusion.

"There is a matter of utmost urgency, Your Majesty, that I must reveal today." Merlin said, his words coming out in a rush but somehow still clear. He forced himself to continue speaking though, not looking at Arthur because he knew that if he stopped, Merlin wouldn't be able to continue. And as much as the idea was appealing, he had a feeling both Arthur and Morgana wouldn't let him ever forget it for their own reasons if he just turned tail and ran out of the Great Hall at the moment.

"I must begin this with a small story.

"For years there have been many assassination attempts on your life over the years and yet, not only do you remain unaware of them but you are also saved from them. This is because usually, the attempts I speak of are of a magical nature, and so thus can only be dealt with by one who has magic as well. And because of the ban on Camelot which illegalizes magic, your… savior who seeks to protects you must do so in secret, lest he be discovered and be executed himself. In which case, he wouldn't be able to save you anymore," Merlin closed his mouth, breathing deeply and blinking a few times, his hands tightening behind his back. He was suddenly aware that he was rambling off point, and taking a moment to recompose himself, he started again, studiously ignoring Arthur's steady stare at himself. "Because of this, his true potential was never discovered, and he continued to save your life, but nonetheless, he did so by remaining by your side. He was known by many from the Magical world, and though he'd rather not, many revered him. To them, as the Druids as well call him, he was known as Emrys."

A small gasp went through the crowd, a few of the more elderly recognizing the name, and even Morgana suddenly sat straighter, if that was possible, her careless expression gone with her full attention on Merlin. Swallowing, Merlin went on, now ignoring Morgana's stare as well and resolving to look straight ahead at the wall behind the thrones instead.

"And so he remained, friends to many, an enemy to those who used their own magic for the wrong, or even to those who plotted against Camelot's rulers - even the ones without magic! - but also a savior for magic itself - and herein his destiny lay, heavy upon Emrys' shoulders. For he was to help guide the Once and Future King safely to his throne, and help him unite all of Albion, bringing back magic to the realm once again. And yet, his burden became more troublesome, because the Once and Future King couldn't go anywhere without attracting trouble, much like a wasp attracted to light," a few nervous snickers passed through the hall, and a quick glance showed even Morgana smirking herself, rolling her eyes slightly. Arthur though, raised his eyebrows, his eyes steadily blank and Merlin forced himself to go on, looking back at the wall. "So every now and then, with Emrys standing alongside his Kind, saving the King's life and trying to guide his King into becoming a better ruler, a better man," Merlin paused. "And a better friend." Out of the corner of his eye, Arthur was straightening so much so that he looked on the verge to stand. "He had hoped and tried many times to reveal his magic to the King, to let in the King on his biggest secret, in onto basically his essence of his life. But each time, he failed to bring to light the truth, and so the days passed with the King under blissful ignorance.

"But Emrys knew, whether or not his destiny was to be fulfilled, as a _friend_ that he had come to see themselves as, he knew that the King had the right to know of the truth immediately. And so he swore to himself that one day, he would reveal himself to the King, to the people, of his true nature, and would take whatever the King passed out that day, be it even a small mention of gratitude, or…" Merlin closed his eyes, breathing heavily before opening his eyes again, this time meeting Morgana's eyes with his own watery ones, his voice low when he continued. "A death sentence."

Ignoring the gasps that passed through the crowd behind him again, he raised his voice when he spoke again.

"And so the days passed, with Emrys serving his King, all the while secretly saving the Once and Future King's life behind the man's back, going through many struggles to bring him to where he is today.

"And seeing you here today, Your Majesty, ready to rule over Camelot with Justice, Kindness, and as a Leader never seen before, it is time for Emrys to fulfill his own promise to himself, and to let you, the Once and Future King be privy to your rights - the identity of the man who had been protecting you for nearly a decade from within the shadows."

The whole crowd seemed to be holding their breath, waiting for something, mayhap someone to step out and reveal himself. But their eyes were all drawn to Merlin as he took one last step forward, his right leg on the bottom step as he kneeled, his head held upright however as he finally brought himself to look at Arthur, to look at his King, knowing his eyes were gold as he revealed _himself_.

"I, son of Balinor, am Emrys, the last Dragonlord. With my words, I can command many of my magical kin, should you ask me to. I can order the Druids, should you ask me to. The Great Dragon, Kilgharrah, and the white dragon, Aithusa, is under my beck and call to do whatever I ask of them, should you ask me to. I can bring down lightening to raze the earth, I can make the winds crumble down the lands, I can make the water overwhelm the earth and drown all of humanity, I can make fire to scorch the lands and make the once fertile ground into a desolate barren - _should you wish me to."_

Merlin finally bowed his head, a single tear making its way down his cheek as he bared his neck, should Arthur draw his sword.

"I, Merlin, am at your mercy."

Silence.

It stretched for so long, that Merlin's thighs and back ached with the position he held himself in, his neck going stiff and sore so much that he longed to stretch it, and yet he remained silent and steady in his posture, his ears tuned in onto the silence that even seemed to stretch out amongst the crowd behind him, all waiting for their King's verdict.

He was also waiting to hear the familiar sound of a sword - or heaven forbid many swords that each Knight and Guard wore - and to be prepared to feel the cold of silver against his neck before everything disappeared in a world of pain. But the longer it took in which nothing happened, the more uneasy and impatient Merlin got, wondering what on earth was going through Arthur's mind and wishing to look up and look at Arthur's eyes to get at least a hint of what was going on up there, but he didn't dare move or look up. Not yet.

And then suddenly, there were footsteps in front of him and he was being hauled up by the shoulder. For a brief moment, Merlin had an internal panic attack as he wondered if the guards were lifting him up to take him to the dungeons, but then he was being pulled into a warm hug, and Merlin froze, not quite sure what was happening.

As Arthur's arms encircled his back, he looked at Morgana confused, who gave him a small smile but not saying anything.

"You're an _idiot,"_ Was all Merlin heard Arthur whisper in his ear, before Arthur pulled back, holding him at arm's length as he announced to the crowd.

"For all that I have been unaware of the truth of my manservant, I am not going to mark the beginning of my reign with an execution, to get some things out of the way. To make matters short, it seems alongside my coronation's feast, we shall be celebrating the mark of a new court sorcerer as well!" Arthur exclaimed. The crowd stood silently still, shocked, but even before they could elicit a response, Arthur went on. "The ban on magic may still be in place, but it seems there is to be some changes made to it. For now, I highly advise everyone to ready themselves for the feast tonight!" And with that, the crowd was signalled to finally leave the Great Hall. But before they did, one younger servant from the back of the crowd had quickly managed to yell out.

"Long Live the King!" And with that, the rest of the crowd kept up the tirade as they slowly left the hall - though Gaius remained in a corner and Merlin was aware of Morgana's presence behind his back - during which Arthur turned to look at him with a blank expression. Merlin for his part, was still standing frozen as he tried to through the process that was being thrown rapidly at him, and Arthur's sudden change of character.

"An absolute buffoon," Arthur said suddenly, and it was so random that Merlin blinked, slowly starting to frown as his mind started to catch up with the events as well.

"I… beg your pardon?" Merlin asked hesitantly.

"Calling that insignificant summary a story for something so vast and needing a lot of explaining to. A complete. Buffoon," Arthur stated, his face still blank. "My chambers in an hour, Merlin," Arthur said, turning and starting to make his way across the hall, ignoring the three pairs of eyes following his back.

"And bring some wine. You may be the court sorcerer, but that doesn't stand till tonight's feast. God knows I'll be needing it" And with that, the door slammed heavily behind him.

Merlin slowly turned until he was facing Gaius.

"Did I miss something?"

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 **So… I'm not really happy with that ending but.. I knew that if i didn't finish it now, believe me when I say there's a slight possibility that I might not have gotten this posted until August or whatnot… and its 1 AM anyway and i did that ending twice-ish or something so … yeah.. Let me know on how it is?**

 **BTW, I'll try to get that third and final prompt somewhere 'round this month if I can Cindy!**


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